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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Peace Accord: 17 Years onCHT land rights still not settledLand commission amendment bill not passed in 13 years; hill people losing land

Pinaki Roy

Nearly two decades since the signing of the Chittagong Hill Tracts
Peace Accord, the government is nowhere near ensuring the land rights of
the hill people. A key provision of the 1997 accord is to give back
their land taken away from them by government and non-government actors,
but it is a right that exists only on paper.

In all, some one
lakh indigenous families in the three hill districts -- Bandarban,
Rangamati and Khagrachhari -- had lost all or some of their lands. Of
them, around 90,000 families were locally displaced during insurgency
and nearly 10,000 are refugee families repatriated from India following
the deal. They have yet to get back their lands. The repatriated
families totalled 12,212.

Over the years, different government
agencies and Bangalee settlers have occupied the homesteads and agro
lands that once belonged to the Jumma people. The local administration
has also leased out hundreds of acres of land to different individuals
and businesses.

Indigenous leaders say the government has been
dragging its feet over amending the relevant law that will empower the
CHT Land Dispute Resolution Commission to ensure indigenous people's
land rights.

“Land is the most important issue for the
indigenous people. But the government is purposefully dilly-dallying
over resolving the matter,” said Mangal Kumar Chakma, publication
secretary of the Parbtya Chattagram Jana Sanghaty Samity (PCJSS), which
signed the peace accord with the government. Instead of settling the
issue, different government agencies have also continued to occupy their
land, he alleged.

In 2011 alone, at least 7,118 acres of land
belonging to indigenous people were grabbed by Bangalee settlers in the
three hill districts, according to a 2012 report of Bangladesh Legal Aid
Services Trust (BLAST).

The ruling Awami League was in power
when the deal was signed. Since then, the party has formed two more
governments in 2008 and in January this year. But it has done little so
far to amend the CHT Land Commission Amendment Bill 2001.

Once
passed, the law will solve the issues of land ownership and land
management. But the government has shelved the bill for all these years,
said Mangal Chakma. Moreover, the government is now set to pass some
laws that will go against the spirit of the peace accord itself, alleged
other indigenous leaders.

Asked about the status of the
amendment bill, chief of the House body on the land ministry Rezaul
Karim Hira said he was not aware of it. The previous parliament had sent
the bill to the relevant committee for scrutiny.

Under the
rules, the House cannot pass any bill placed in the previous parliament.
This means, the bill will have to be brought before parliament afresh.
Against this backdrop, PCJSS President Santu Larma has said they would
start a non-cooperation movement from May 1 next year if the treaty is not implemented by then.

STATUS OF CHT LAND

According to the Land Revenue Administration Report of 1965-66, there
were 32,59,520 acres of land in the CHT. Fifty-one percent of them were
declared reserve forest. Of the rest 49 percent, only 1,30,000 acres
were cropland, of which 54,000 acres (40 percent) were submerged due to
the Kaptai dam, constructed for hydropower project in the 1960s in
Rangamati.

The project displaced about a third of the
indigenous population in the district, which was the key reason for the
armed conflicts in the hills. As the indigenous people started to target
the security forces in the late 1970s, the government took up a
programme to drastically increase Bangalee settlements there in efforts
to weaken insurgency.

From 1979 to 1985, some 80,000 families
from the plains were brought to the hills. Each of these families was
given about 10 acres of croplands and hilly lands, indigenous leaders
claim. Most of these lands belonged to the indigenous people, suggest different studies.

'GOVT WORKING'

The government claims it has implemented at least 48 of the 72 peace
pact provisions fully and 15 partially while implementation of nine
other provisions are underway.

“I would say 95 percent
provisions of the peace accord have been implemented. The government is
working to implement the rest within the shortest possible time,” said
Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, chief of Parliamentary Standing Committee on
the Chittagong Hill Tracts Affairs Ministry.

Contacted, Naba
Bikram Tripura, secretary of the ministry, said implementation of the
treaty was an ongoing process. He said the ministry held a meeting
yesterday on the amendment bill. CHT Minister Bir Bahadur Ushwe
Sing, Santu Larma, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's Adviser Gowher Rizvi
and the secretary, among others, attended the meeting.

The CHT
Land Dispute Resolution Commission Act was passed in 2001. So far, six
such commissions have been formed, but none has been functional due to
legal tangles.

Implementation of CHT AccordU-turn by the governmentMangal Kumar Chakma

THIS year marks the passing of 17 years since signing of Chittagong
Hill Tracts (CHT) Accord, 1997 on December 2, 1997, between the
Government of Bangladesh and PCJSS. Since assuming power in 2009, the
Awami League-led grand alliance has not taken any step that is worth
mentioning towards implementation of the core issues of the Accord.
The Awami League government (1996-2001) initially implemented a few
provisions of the CHT Accord. Among them are passing of CHTRC Act and
three HDC Acts in 1998, establishment of CHT Affairs Ministry,
repatriation of Jumma refugees from India, and withdrawal of around 66
temporary camps (though the government claimed withdrawal of 172 camps).
However, the main issues, such as preservation of tribe-inhabited
feature/status of the region; introduction of special governance system
in CHT with CHTRC and HDCs and devolution of powers and functions to
them; resolution of land disputes; demilitarisation, etc. are yet to be
implemented.

The government, including the prime minister, has
been claiming that altogether 48 out of 72 sections of the CHT Accord
have been implemented in the meantime and 15 sections out of the rest
have been partially implemented while the remaining 9 sections are under
implementation process. This is not fully accurate. As per observation
of PCJSS, only 25 sections out of 72 sections of the CHT Accord have
been implemented so far. Thirty four sections of the Accord still remain
totally unimplemented while 13 sections have been partially
implemented. This means that two-third of the sections of the Accord
have been unimplemented as of this day.

For instance, analysis
of Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4 under Part-A of the Accord, which the
government says have already been implemented, disproves the
government's claim. Section-1 of the Accord stipulates: ”Both the
parties, having considered the CHT region as a tribe-inhabited region,
recognised the need of preserving special features of this region and
attaining the overall development thereof.” But this aspect still
remains confined to the papers. No legal or effective safeguard measures
have so far been taken to preserve or restore the tribe-inhabited
feature of the region. No office order, directive or notification to
that effect has been passed by the government. As a result, unabated
migration of outsiders into CHT is taking place through different ways
and means, which has led to the loss of the very tribal-inhabited
feature of the region.

The government, on the one hand, has
been dilly-dallying in implementing the core issues of the CHT Accord,
while formulating anti-accord laws and programmes on the other. For
instance, without holding elections in the three HDCs and CHTRC and
contrary to the opinion of the CHT people, the government, on November
23, 2014, amended three HDC Acts by increasing the numerical strength of
the members of three interim HDCs from 5 to 15, including the chairman.
Before signing of the CHT Accord, though the tenure of HDCs had already
expired, the successive governments did not take any initiative to hold
elections for these councils during the last 22 years. No initiative
has yet been undertaken to formulate Election Rules of chairmen and
members of the HDCs and Electoral Roll Rules for the purpose. The
5-member interim HDCs formed with the ruling party members have been
functioning in an undemocratic way. In fact, these nominated interim
HDCs work without any obligation and accountability to the people.
Instead of holding elections for these institutions, the government has
recently amended the laws of these councils to run the HDCs in an unfair
manner. The main objective of making amendments to the three HDC Acts
seems to be to by-pass the elections for the CHT institutions and
deprive the CHT people from their political rights to franchise and
access to representation and, above all, to shelve the implementation of
the CHT Accord tactfully.

Unlike prompt amendment of three HDC
Acts, which was made within six months, amendment of CHT Land Dispute
Resolution Commission Act 2001 has been kept pending for 13 years,
including 6 years of the grand alliance government. This law was passed
in 2001 without consultation with or advice from CHTRC, hence, several
issues contravening CHT Accord were included in it. When the present
government was formed in January 2009, the CHTRC once again sent its
recommendations to it for bringing amendment to this law. After a series
of meetings, CHT Affairs Ministry, in consultation with CHTRC,
finalised 13-point amendment proposals for amendment of the Act, which
was also endorsed by CHT Accord Implementation Committee. But the
government has been delaying in amending the law as per the 13-point
recommendations. Due to non-resolution of land-related disputes in the
CHT, ethnic conflicts and forcible occupation of lands belonging to the
indigenous Jummas continue.

The prompt amendment of HDC Acts on
one hand and delay in amendment of Land Commission Act year after year
on the other, make it look as if the government is not sincere about
implementing the Accord fully. While CHTRC Complex Project has been kept
pending ever since the formation of the apex body of CHT special
administrative setup in 1999, the selection of sites for establishing
medical college and science and technology unversity is another
instance of the government's confusing policy in implementing the CHT
Accord. The government is keen to rehabilitate the poor people through
Ashrayan Project in CHT while measures for rehabilitation of internally
displaced Jumma families have not been taken in the last 17 years,
though it is one of the obligations stipulated in the CHT Accord.

In fact, there cannot be any alternative to implementation of CHT
Accord for ensuring proper political solution to the longstanding crisis
and establishing peace in CHT. CHT people urge the government for a
speedy resolution by drawing up a time-bound roadmap of the
implementation process of the Accord in order to ascertain good
governance and pro-people and environmentally balanced development in
CHT, thereby ensuring peace and all-round development in the region.

The International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) has expressed
concern over the Government’s lack of political will leading to the
failure of full implementation of the CHT Accord 17 years after its
signing. The CHTC has called upon the Government to urgently adopt and
enforce a roadmap with clear milestones for implementation of the Accord
ensuring full participation of all stakeholders.

On 29
November 2014 Parbatya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) organised press
conference on implementation of CHT Accord on the occasion of the 17th anniversary
of CHT Accord in Dhaka. President of PCJSS, Jyotirindra Bodhipriya Larma read
out written statement of PCJSS. Senior leader Pankaj Bhattacharya, president of
Oikya NAP; Ushatun Talukder, MP and vice president of PCJSS; Rabindranath
Soren, president of Jatiya Adivasi Parishad; Numan Ahmed Khan, executive
director of Institute of Environment and Development, advocate Neelufar Banu,
among others, attended the press conference.

In
his written statement, J B Larma said that many ministers and bureaucrats including
the Prime Minister have been propagating that 48 sections out of 72 sections of
the Accord have been implemented in the mean time and 15 sections out of the
rest have been partially implemented while the remaining 9 sections are under implementation
process. In fact, the said statement or report made by the government on
implementation of the CHT Accord is not true as a whole. As per the study of
PCJSS, only 25 sections out of 72 sections of the Accord have been implemented.
There are 34 sections of the Accord still remain unimplemented while 13 sections
of the Accord have been partially implemented. It means that two-third sections
of the Accord are lying unimplemented as of this day.

He
also added that instead of undertaking initiative to implement the
unimplemented significant issues of the Accord, in opposite turn, the
government, having the Accord violated and trampled the legal provisions that
oblige the government to consult with the CHT Regional Council and the three Hill
District Councils in framing up laws on CHT or the laws applicable to CHT, has
stepped up unilateral initiative to amend the Hill District Council Act and
frame up CHT Development Board Act and establishing Science & Technology University
and Medical College in Ranngamati.

He
opined that CHT crisis is a national and political problem. In fact, the CHT Accord
was signed in greater interest of the country and hence, the duties and
responsibilities of the government is primary in the implementation of the Accord.
In this circumstances, he called upon the government to undertake
timeline-based initiative to implement the unimplemented issues of the Accord
without delay any further. Otherwise, the government will have to responsible
for any sort of undesireable situation in CHT. With this, he declared that ― “If
the government does not undertake time-line-based effective initiative within
30 April 2015, as such, from 1 May 2015 ‒ (1) Non-cooperation movement against
the government will be commenced under PCJSS leadership and (2) All out
resistance movement against Anti-Accord and counter-Jumma-interest programs
will be accelerated”.

Rallies, mass gatherings and discussion meetingsare going to be held at Upazila and District
levels in CHT including Dhaka and Chittagong at PCJSS initiative on the
occasion of the 17th Anniversary of CHT Accord.

The government should ensure the full implementation of the Chittagong
Hill Tracts (CHT) Peace Accord, 1997 before frustration among the
indigenous community leads to unrest and instability in the region
again, speakers told a discussion yesterday.

“My only urge to
the policymakers and government is please implement the CHT accord in
its full content and essence before it is too late,” said Prof Mizanur
Rahman, chairman, National Human Rights Commission.

The
discussion, “Marginalization and Impunity: Violence Against Women and
Girls in the Chittagong Hill Tracts”, was organised by International
Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission (CHTC) and Bangladesh Indigenous
Women's Network (BIWN) in the capital's Chhayanaut Sangskriti Bhaban.

The full implementation is crucial in ensuring security of indigenous
women and ending impunity currently enjoyed by perpetrators of violence,
the speakers noted.

Chanchana Chakma, general secretary of
BIWN, presented excerpts from a CHTC report which showed how from 1976
onwards militarisation and the state's transmigration programmes to
settle Bangalees in the three southeast hill districts created tension
and led to the two-decade-long armed struggle of indigenous people
against the state. The treaty ended the armed struggle but hill women
continued to be targeted in clashes between Bangalees and the indigenous
community, the report mentioned. The report presented case studies of
violence from 2011-2012, showing how the culture of impunity prevailed
in the regions starting with the unsolved case of indigenous leader
Kalpana Chakma's enforced disappearance in 1996.

KS Mong,
member, Chittagong Hill Tracts Regional Council, stated how women were
often abducted, forced to convert and marry Bangalee men to intimidate
the indigenous community, who were forced to move away to remote areas
for security. Noting that land was the major issue of conflict in CHT,
Mong stressed the need for an effective land commission. “If the
situation continues to be such, we would either announce and leave the
country and take refuge in India or Myanmar or began preparing ourselves
for resistance again,” he said.

Besides the treaty's
implementation, the CHTC report also recommended establishment of a
national commission of inquiry and committee to monitor violence against
women in the CHT to end the culture of impunity. Employing mixed police
force with more women police and sensitising them also came up from
open discussions.

On Saturday rights activists under the banner Nagorik Shomaj formed a
human chain before Bangladesh National Museum demanding immediate
election to the three CHT district councils.

“Undemocratic
forces are becoming permanently rooted in the hill tracts as no election
of the councils had taken place in 22 years,” said Oikya NAP President
Pankaj Bhattacharya, adding that CHT people have reasons to feel utterly
betrayed.

The activists also criticised the government for
mulling over increasing the number of zila parishad members from five to
11. “Increasing the size instead of holding an election clearly means
that the government is doing this to politicise the CHT zila parishad
with its chosen people,” said Prof Mesbah Kamal of history at Dhaka
University.

Khushi Kabir, also coordinator of Nijera Kori;
Sanjeeb Drong, secretary of the Bangladesh Forum for Indigenous People;
Chanchana Chakma, also president of Hill Women's Federation; and
Associate Prof Robaet Ferdous of Dhaka University also spoke.

According
to Kapaeeng Foundation, an organisation working for protection of the
rights of indigenous people, 19 cases of sexual violence were reported
from January to April this year

Indigenous women and
girls face “double discrimination” – first as women, then as indigenous,
speakers said at a round-table held in the capital yesterday.

With International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women
ahead, they said although the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord was
signed by the government 17 years ago, indigenous people, particularly
the women, still live under the threat of various criminal acts
frequently taking place in the region, while the culture of impunity and
settlement of Bengalis have left them extremely vulnerable.

The observation came at a session titled: “Marginalisation and Impunity:
Violence against Women and Girls in the Chittagong Hill Tracts,”
organised by CHT Commission (CHTC) at the Ramesh Chandra Hall of
Chhayanaut Bhaban.

Speakers claimed that the culture of
impunity is so prevalent in the CHT areas that victims, despite
suffering constant harassment, have lost interest in filing cases at the
police station. According to Kapaeeng Foundation, an organisation
working for protection of the rights of indigenous people, 19 cases of
sexual violence were reported from January to April this year. Of them,
two were killed after rape, nine were raped, seven fell victim of
attempt to rape and one was abducted.

A total of 227 cases for
violence against women in both the hilly areas and plain lands under CHT
were filed in between 2007 and 2013. The forms included rape, gang
rape, murder after rape, physical assault, attempt to rape, abduction,
sexual harassment and human trafficking. Five rape incidents occurred in
2007 and the number rose three times higher last year. Many of these
cases are not followed up, said the speakers.

Bangladesh
Indigenous Women’s Network General Secretary Chanchana Chakma read out
the keynote paper prepared by Dr Bina D’Costa, a peace and conflict
specialist from the Australian National University.

The report
emphasised that militarisation and transmigration (illegal settlement of
Bengalis in the CHT) that started from 1976, generated extreme
vulnerability and poverty in the region, grossly affecting the safety of
women in CHT. Kalpana Chakma, former organising secretary of Hill
Women’s Federation, who was allegedly abducted from her house by a
military official and two members of the village defence party in 1996,
is still missing.

“Still we do not see any development or any
exemplary punishment to the culprits of similar cases,” said KS Mong, a
member of CHT regional council. He also claimed that the present
government, who signed the Peace Accord, has now lost the courage to
implement it.

The paper suggested that the process to bring
peace and stability in the CHT must begin with the demilitarisation of
the region as stipulated in the 1997 CHT Peace Accord. The paper
recommended the recruitment of an ombudsman to the National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) to which NHRC Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman replied: “I
disagree with the recommendation. Until I have the power to investigate,
recruiting 10 ombudsmen would bring no benefits. First the government
should grant more power to NHRC.”

Rights activists have urged the policy makers to implement the
Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) accord completely before it is too late.
The culture of impunity discourage the indigenous people from raising
their voice against the authorities, they observed.

They came
up with the observation at a seminar on "violence against women and
girls in the CHT" organised by CHT Commission (CHTC) at the Chayanat
Bhaban in the capital on Sunday. The seminar blamed that the
militarisation and transmigration programmes have continued to settle
illegally the landless Bangalees from the plain-lands in CHT that was
initiated in 1976 by General Ziaur Rahman.

The settlement has
created extreme vulnerability of and poverty to the adivasis and deeply
affected adivasi girls' safety and security in the region. Rights
activists who recently visited CHT were attacked in Rangamati,
Khagrachari and Bandarban under the very nose of the district
administration and law enforcement agencies by the Bangalee settlers.

Not to anybody's surprise, the police were reluctant to register any
complain of attacks on the rights groups, while the nonchalant
authorities in Dhaka expressed their surprise over the civil
administrations attitude in CHT hesitant to help the victims, the
speakers told the seminar.

Dr Mizanur Rahman, chairman of
National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said the commission have probed
the incidents of attacks on the rights activists and have sent strong
notes to relevant authorities with an advice to take legal action
against perpetrators. Unfortunately the authorities have yet to respond
to NHRC to this regards, lamented Dr Mizan. "Well I am still expecting a
pro-active response from the authority on the attacks on the activists.
NHRC have also failed to get any response regarding previous probe
reports on murders, arsons and sexual violence's against the indigenous
people by perpetrators," he said.

Sara Hossain
described how the perpetrators of the attacks on the adivasis have been
able to flex their muscles with blessings of political power and civil
administrations. Even the local police officers face pressure from
political and administrative high-ups not to proceed with the cases
against the Bangalee settlers, she said.

A research paper
"Marginalisation and Impunity: Violence Against Women and Girls in the
CHT" by Bina D'Costa was presented at the seminar. The researcher
recommends for sincere political will to bring peace and stability in
the CHT must begin with the demilitarisation of the region as determined
in 1997 CHT Accord. The research recommends voluntary resettlement of
Bangalees who have illegally occupied lands that belong to the adivasis.

A sustainable gender-sensitive and gender-responsive development
project combating the poverty and inequality of indigenous communities
in the region must be endorsed, it was suggested. Lastly, all
stakeholders must recognise that the end of impunity is fundamental and
urgent, and that without adequate, effective and impartial enforcement
of relevant laws, violence against adivasi women and girls cannot be
mitigated.

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Dr. Mizanur Rahman
on Sunday urged the government to implement the Chittagong Hill Tracts
peace accord as early as possible, else the country will have to suffer,
reports UNB.

“My earnest request to the government, please
implement the CHT peace accord as early as possible. A stitch in time
saves nine…” he said taking part at a roundtable on ‘Marginalization and
Impunity: Violence against Women and Girls in the Chittagong Hill
Tracts’. The roundtable was arranged jointly by Chittagong Hill Tracts
(CHT) Commission and Adivasi Nari Network at Ramesh Chandra Hall of the
Chayanaut Bhaban, Dhanmondi in the capital.

Dr Mizanur Rahman
said the CHT peace accord would have to be implemented for peace and
security of the entire country as well as for the people of the CHT.
Expressing concern, he said: “Unless the accord is implemented
immediately, political gridlock might break out in the hill
tracts.“Chaired by CHT Commission co-chairman Sultana Kamal, the
programme was also addressed by commission members and Khusi Kabir and
barrister Sara Hossain, commission adviser Meghna Guhathakurta,
Bangladesh Mahila Parishad president Ayesha Khanam and CHT regional
council member KS Mong.

The
cases of violence against women in the Chittagong Hill Tract (CHT)
areas should get extra attention to end the culture of impunity,
observed human rights activists at a roundtable discussion in the city.

Barrister Sara Hossain, executive director of Bangladesh
Legal Aid and Services Trust (BLAST) said, “Initially, different women
rights organisations come forward for the cases of violence against
women, but gradually they back away and the cases sink into oblivion
with the course of time.” She added the close ones of the victims and
even the victims receive threats constantly from the perpetrators of a
crime after a case is filed.

Also, apathy among the law
enforcers is one the major impediments too, he noted. That is why, the
cases related to violence against women in the hill tracts need to be
treated with extra attention, she opined.

While presenting
the keynote paper, Chanchana Chakma, general secretary of BIWN
(Bangladesh Indigenous Women’s Network) recommended strengthening the
existing women right activists’ network, providing technical and
financial support to enhance capacity building of the indigenous
womenfolk, appointing an ombudsperson at National Human Rights
Commission, sensitising the media, medical officials and the mass people
regarding the issues, and training up the indigenous women regarding
the legal process and ensuring their access to justice.

National minority leaders, politicians, academics and right activists
on Saturday demanded cancellation of three bills tabled in parliament
for increasing to 11 from the existing five the number of interim
members of the three hill district councils in Chittagong Hill Tracts.

Addressing a human chain in front of National Museum, they said that
the bills incorporated government ‘ill intention’ of keeping the hill
districts under control of selected people without direct votes of
national minorities in the region.

Khagrachari unit of Parbatya
Bangali Chhatra Parishad, however, at a human chain in Khagrachari
town, demanded inclusion of seven Bengali people and one vice-chairman
in CHT district councils as per ratio of the inhabitants in the proposed
bills.

Th state minister for CHT affairs, Bir Bahadur Ushwe Sing, on July 1
tabled the Rangamati Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014, the
Khagrachari Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014 and the
Bandarban Hill District Council (Amendment) Bill 2014.

The
bills proposed that the number of interim members of the hill district
councils would be increased at 11 from the existing five including three
non-tribal members.

The parliamentary standing committee on
the CHT affairs ministry on November 17 recommended passage of the bills
after scrutiny.

Although the laws stipulate that 34 members
including the chairman of each of the hill district councils have to be
elected, the government has so far taken no move for the elections,
rather it is going to control the councils by increasing the number of
selected interim members, the human chain in Dhaka was told.

The speakers said that the CHT affairs ministry did not discuss the
matter with hill people including Parbatya Chattagram Jana Sanghati
Samiti, Parbatya Chattagram Anchalik Parishad and the local lawmakers
before placing the bills in the parliament.

Oikya NAP president
Pankaj Bhattacharya said, ‘Elected members are needed for the proper
functioning of the hill district councils…Mere increasing the number of
interim members would neither ensure the accountability of the councils
nor the councils would represent the hill people.’ He said the bills
were a clear violation of the CHT Peace Accord.

‘The undemocratic forces would take a strong footing in the hills if the bills are passed,’ he said.

Parbatya Chattagram Anchalik Parishad member KS Mong said that the
government was acting in a hostile attitude to hill people. ‘Government
is forcing us to choose the way of blood-stained fighting,’ he said.

International Chittagong Hill Tracts Commission member Khushi Kabir
said that the government wanted to take over the hill districts under
its control through the bills, ignoring the interests of the hill
people.

Bangladesh Adivasi Forum general secretary Sanjeev
Drang said that the government was deceiving the hill people time and
again but it was not implementing the CHT accord.

The laws would threaten the democratic practices within the hill districts and the country overall

Different organisations yesterday raised their voices against the
three amendment bills produced in the parliament recently in connection
to the district council governance of the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT).

Under the banner of “Nagorik Samaj,” they formed a human chain in
front of the National Museum in the capital demanding the immediate
cancellation of the three proposed laws – Rangamati Parbatya Zilla
Parishad (amendment) Bill, Khagrachhari Parbatya Zilla Parishad
(amendment) Bill and Bandarban Parbatya Zilla Parishad (amendment) Bill.

They claimed that the proposed laws were a clear violation to the
peace accord that was signed by Awami League and Parbatya Chattagram
Jana Sanghati Samiti in 1997.

Oikko NAP President Pankaj
Bhattacharya said: “The government is violating the CHT Peace Treaty by
proposing the three district council acts according to their whims.

It was clearly stated in the peace accord that the government must
consult with the Ancholik Parishad [interim council] before amending any
law in relation to them.”

The laws would threaten the democratic practices within the hill districts and the country overall, the speakers said.

They also demanded an immediate election to ensure local representatives in the CHT district council.

The original laws passed in 1989 had provisions for electing members of the district councils by direct popular votes.

Since then, only one election took place in 1989.

CHT commission member Khushi Kabir, Dhaka University History Prof
Mesbah Kamal, Adivasi Forum General Secretary Sanjib Drong took part in
the human chain.

Dhaka: Speakers at a human chain on Saturday alleged that the
government has violated the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord through
bringing three separate bills for three Zila Parishads of the region in
Parliament.

Addressing a civic group organized human chain in front
of National Museum in the city in protest of the government move,
speakers also urged the government to withdraw the bill and give
election for electing representatives of the three Zila Parishads.

It was among others addressed by United National Awami Party (UNAP)
president Pankaj Bhattacharya, rights activist Khusi Kabir, Prof Mesbah
Kamal and Sanjeeb Drong, journalist Abu Sayeed Khan and Dhaka University
teacher Robayet Ferdous.

Pankaj said that as per the Peace Accord government is bound to consult with Regional Council for making any law relating CHT.

“But, government has brought the bill in parliament without doing so.
This is an anti-people move and government is doing this to rehabilitate
their party men in the region,” he added.

He observed that the
government move may obstruct the process of implementation of the Peace
Accord and urged the government to withdraw the bill.

About Me

Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT), home of Jumma Indigenous people, is a military controlled area, where all the news are filtered by the military and the Bangladeshi government. No foreigners are allowed to enter this military zone without obtaining permission from the Bangladeshi government.
CHT, where blood has shed for decades and hopes were burnt to ashes by the brutes, constitutes of people who want their voice to be heard. We are here to ensure that the voice of these unheard victims in CHT echo around the world despite the Bangladeshi government trying to suppress them in the biased state run media.
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